- Participants discussed the practicality and ethics of hiring low-cost virtual assistants in India ($1–$6/hr) for tasks such as writing fake Amazon reviews and eBay feedback, with links to services like GetFriday.com.  
- Genehacker expressed a desire for a parallel AI that could operate alongside him, but doubted current AI capabilities; the group debated whether an AI could pass a 3rd-grade exam merely through advances in natural-language processing rather than genuine intelligence.  
- Fenn noted that while detailed neural simulations and lesion studies exist, no technology yet images every neuron firing across an entire brain with sub-millisecond resolution, emphasizing biological variability among brains.  
- Vitaly proposed using OpenSCAD for a project, prompting concern that its STL-only output limits downstream workflows.  
- Utopiah shared a Singularity Hub article and video about Venter’s success in creating synthetic life.  
- The BIL conference in Los Angeles was mentioned as starting the next day; kanzure lamented forgetting to buy plane tickets.  
- Humanity+ announced new board member Amy Li, prompting criticism that her background in “branding, creative marketing and design” was insufficient for the organization’s goals.  
- A large-scale public pillow-fight event (pillowfight.info) was highlighted as possibly having more attendees than formal conferences, sparking jokes about hazing politicians with pillow fights.  
- kanzure discovered that his website had been linked on a Something Awful forum thread mocking “strange pictures on dating sites,” worrying about the SEO implications.